The owner of a home health agency today admitted her role in a $7 million scheme to defraud Medicaid and engage in bribery, money laundering, and tax evasion, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Irina Krutoyarsky, 61, Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court to an information that charged her with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and tax evasion.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Krutoyarsky owned HHCH Health Care Inc., of Linden, which provided home health aides and health care services to New Jersey residents.
Home health aides visit patients at their homes and provide a variety of health care services, such as assistance with eating, dressing, and grooming. These home health aide services were subsidized under the N.J. Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid).
Krutoyarsky and her conspirators defrauded Medicaid by submitting false documents to the N.J. Board of Nursing, the state agency responsible for issuing home health aide certifications. Krutoyarsky falsely represented that prospective home health aides had attended and satisfactorily completed required training and testing.
Krutoyarsky also fraudulently billed Medicaid for services not actually rendered to patients.
Home health aides sometimes gave cash kickbacks to patients who were also participating in the scheme.
Krutoyarsky defrauded Medicaid out of $7 million. She directed certain home health aides to establish checking accounts at a bank near HHCH’s office and then took control of their checkbooks. After Medicaid paid the claims and transferred the funds into HHCH accounts, Krutoyarsky then transferred portions of the money into the aides’ accounts and used the money to purchase, maintain, and pay for real property in New Jersey, New York, Florida; purchase personal property for her own use and benefit; and pay for personal expenses for her own use and benefit and the use and benefit of her family.
Krutoyarsky also bribed an employee of the N.J. Department of Labor (NJDOL), who was working in an undercover capacity with federal agents.
In mid-2010, the NJDOL demanded Krutoyarsky to produce certain HHCH records. Realizing that providing these records would reveal the Medicaid fraud scheme, Krutoyarsky paid approximately $10,000 in a cash bribe to the employee for the purpose of obstructing and unlawfully influencing the NJDOL investigation.
In May 2011, Krutoyarsky paid a second cash bribe of approximately $15,000 to the employee for the purpose of obstructing and unlawfully influencing a second NJDOL investigation related to one of Krutoyarsky’s conspirator’s companies. This bribe payment was also captured on video.
Between 2007 and 2011, Krutoyarsky cheated the IRS out of $907,150 in taxes due and owing to the United States.
Krutoyarsky’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 14, 2015.